Women's Journal: Stone, Crimson focused on tasks at hand

The Beanpot is on Harvard women’s hockey head
coach’s Katey Stone’s schedule, but it’s not the
only thing.

“We’ll prepare no different than any other
game,” admitted Stone. “It’s one of 29 other
games in this season.”

Stone (pictured above) and the Crimson (17-2-1) are
not dismissing Tuesday’s Beanpot, but they have a mountain of
a game impeding their way to Tuesday’s opening round game
against Boston College (5pm at Matthews Arena): a Friday night tilt
at ECAC and Ivy foe Dartmouth. The Big Green dropped two games last
weekend for the first time since the first game of 2013, and are in
need of a win to keep pace in a crowded top half of the
ECAC.

“We’re looking forward to that game,” said
Stone. “It’s a positive rivalry. It’s at
Dartmouth and a league game and an Ivy game, so it’s
important to us. They’re a good team. We just have to do our
jobs.”

The Crimson’s two starting goaltenders, freshman
Emerance Maschmeyer and senior Laura Bellamy have definitely been
doing their jobs this season. Stone knows that she has lucked out
with a goalie rotation that can stand the pressure of competitive
ECAC play and their difficult out-of-conference
schedule.

“They both work so hard,” said Stone.
“They’ve brought such tremendous consistency.
They’ve played so well that I can’t even suggest having
a #1 goalie right now. That is a great problem to
have!”

Maschmeyer and Bellamy are remarkable in net. Both sit in
the national top five of goals against average, shutouts and
winning percentage. Bellamy has provided incredible mentorship for
Maschmeyer, and that is just one example of how Harvard’s
players have helped bring their seven freshmen on board
quickly.

“The seniors have done a tremendous job communicating
the standards of what a Harvard hockey player is,” explained
Stone. “They have done a great job teaching what it takes to
be a Division 1 hockey player.”

Stone believes that Harvard’s success this season and
in past years, has to do with what she recruits for to begin with:
self-motivated players. So despite the Crimson’s focus on the
first task at hand on Friday, Stone knows that her student-athletes
will be in the best mindset for Tuesday’s Beanpot opening
game.

“We’ll prepare no different than any other game,
but you don’t need to get your kids motivated for the
Beanpot.”

Player of the WeekAlex Carpenter, Boston College, sophomore, Reading,
Mass.I believe I have typed Alex Carpenter’s name more
times in my season of doing this column more times than ESPN talked
about Tim Tebow in the last two years combined. But it is
completely deserved. She brings such a high level of performance
consistently that it is a pleasure to watch her play hockey. She
scored a hat trick against UConn and dished out four helpers on the
weekend, and earned a share of Hockey East’s Player of the
Week award.

This is not a case of traditional Beanpot hype being
unjustified. This year may go down as the most competitive Beanpot
tournament ever - men’s or women’s. All four teams are
in the top 12 of the PairWise rankings, with Boston College,
Harvard and Boston University ranked second, third and fourth.
(Northeastern is currently twelfth.) Women’s hockey followers
have noted the increased competitiveness of the Boston area on the
national scene for several years, and this year’s tournament
is a true example of that.

Harvard has not won a Beanpot since 2010, and finished in
fourth last year for the first time since 1981. Look for senior
captain Jillian Dempsey (Winthrop, Mass.) to take it upon herself
to make sure her class rectifies last year’s dismal
performance.

Boston College finished in the third spot last season, but
is filled with talent this year. Senior captain Blake Bolden
recently mentioned that the Eagles may have won the Beanpot before
(last in 2011), but it is still a key part of their plan to achieve
their elusive national championship this season.

Last year’s champs, Northeastern, have the most to
play for in the next two Tuesdays. A win against any of these three
teams would be impactful towards the Huskies NCAA tournament
at-large bid chances if they end up needing to go that route.
Kendall Coyne and Casey Pickett were huge parts of last
year’s 4-3 overtime championship game win over Boston
University. Coyne’s five goal weekend last week show that
she’s back on the top of her game after a dry spell earlier
this season, and could be poised for a big Beanpot.

Boston University found themselves so close to their first
ever Beanpot tournament title as a varsity program in 2012 (they
have one from their time as a club program in 1981). The Terriers
are running a bit under the radar right now, and a Beanpot would
not just give them a program first, but the possibility to move up
in the Pairwise Rankings. BU will need to keep their penalties to a
minimum and their defense will need to do their part in blocking
shots if they want to be at their best and have a chance for the
title.

Division III Note of the WeekUMass Boston’s Samantha Fallon (Pembroke, Mass.)
picked a great game to score her first two collegiate goals. Her
two goals helped the Beacons edge nationally ranked Manhattanville
College on Saturday, 5-3. The freshman scored the game tying goal
at the end of the second period, and then kicked off a three goal
third period with the go-ahead goal just about seven minutes into
the frame. Her performance earned her ECAC East Rookie of the Week
honors.

Power Rankings1) Harvard (17-2-1 overall, 14-1-0
ECAC)

The Crimson dropped a game last weekend to Clarkson team
in need of a win against an ECAC superpower, and just edged St.
Lawrence in overtime, but will look to tune back up against
Dartmouth before heading to the Beanpot.

2) Boston College (19-4-2 overall, 12-2-1 Hockey
East)

There has been so much buzz over Haley Skarupa and Alex Carpenter,
but Melissa Bizzari (Stowe, Verm.) is a quiet force on the Boston
College offense. She is in the midst of a seven game scoring
streak, including six goals. Two of those goals came in the
Eagles’ 8-0 win over UConn on Saturday.

3) Boston University (17-3-3 overall, 12-2-1 Hockey
East)

It’s going to feel like deja vu for Boston
University this week, as they host Northeastern Saturday afternoon
in a Hockey East matchup before facing them in the Beanpot late
game at Matthews on Tuesday night. Freshman forward Rebecca Russo
(Shelton, Conn.), who has played in 21 games this season, suffered
a hard hit against University of New Hampshire and her status for
this weekend is unknown.

4) Northeastern (14-9-2 overall, 8-6-1 Hockey
East)

Hello, Kendall Coyne! A five goal weekend earned the
sophomore co-league player of the week honors. She is the first
Northeastern player since 2002 to score 40 points in consecutive
seasons - and there is still quite a bit of hockey left. Junior
Kelsey O'Sullivan (Medway, Mass.) started in net for both of the
Huskies wins last weekend, earning her first collegiate
wins.

5) Quinnipiac (14-9-2 overall, 8-5-1 ECAC)

Quinnipiac is the beneficiary of a scheduling quirk - they
began their season so early that they had a much needed week off
after hosting Robert Morris the weekend of January 18 & 19th.
They will look to bounce back after two disappointing mid-January
ECAC losses to Harvard and Dartmouth when they reenter league play
against Brown and Yale this weekend.